Coronavirus news and updates for Friday, January 28, 2022

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Friday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

9:10 a.m. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Ontario government have paid one of the largest consulting companies in the world $22.4 million to help run the province’s new COVID-19 paid sick leave program, and could be on the hook for millions more.

The agreement with Deloitte LLC came through two sole-sourced contracts handed out two days before the official announcement of the Worker Income Protection Benefit last April. The contracts are worth up to $43.7 million.

“The fees are based on the level of staff and effort required to complete the engagement,” Deloitte said in an “engagement letter” sent to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) on May 7, and signed by then-WSIB CEO Tom Bell on May 18.